


A Firm Hand

by citrinesunset



Category: Inception
Genre: Corporal Punishment, Discipline, M/M, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-15
Updated: 2012-06-15
Packaged: 2017-11-07 20:56:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/435355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrinesunset/pseuds/citrinesunset
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Cobb have an arrangement: Cobb enforces the rules, and disciplines Arthur as necessary. He can't always pretend to know what Arthur gets from it, but he gives him what he needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Firm Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Spanking/Paddling square on my kink_bingo card. Took me waaay too long to actually finish this, and I would have liked to have made it longer and do more stuff for kink_bingo in general. But alas, it wasn't to be.

 

It wasn't like Dom wanted to punish Arthur. It was always hard not to feel bad about it, even if it was what Arthur wanted.

But when Arthur stepped out of line, Dom did what was necessary.

This time, Arthur confessed. Dom was thankful. He had little desire to police Arthur's behavior, and it was easier for them both if he didn't have to.

They were on a job in Rome, planning to steal corporate secrets from the CEO of a software company, and Arthur had spent the last three days compiling information about the mark and his habits. Right now, he and Dom were looking through all of it in Dom's hotel room.

Dom pretended not to notice that Arthur kept stealing awkward glances at him.

"I had a cigarette yesterday," Arthur said, finally. He swallowed guiltily and stared at the file he was studying.

Dom narrowed his eyes at him. Keeping his tone neutral, he said, "Thought you were still trying to quit."

Arthur scowled. "If I wasn't, would I be telling you this?" he snapped.

"Watch the attitude, all right? I'm already going to spank you."

"I know you're going to spank me." Arthur's voice lost some of the edge, and for a moment Dom thought he might try to get out of this. He didn't.

"I said I'd paddle you if this happened again," Dom said. Some annoyance crept into his tone.

He couldn't blame Arthur for slipping up. The last few days had been long and tough. He barely cared if Arthur smoked in the first place, but they had rules. And consequences. What message would it send if he let Arthur get away with this?

Most of the rules were Arthur's, including the one about smoking. This was, after all, supposed to be for Arthur's benefit, so Dom had made him draw up a list of behavior that needed monitoring. The few rules Dom made were just to let Arthur feel his authority.

"I know," Arthur said. "And you _should_."

Dom nodded. "We'll take care of it tonight. You know you'll feel better once you've been punished."

 

 

* * *

 

 

They'd had this arrangement long enough now that Dom felt no reluctance when he went down the hall to Arthur's room that evening.

Arthur answered the door almost immediately after Dom knocked.

"Come on in. I'm ready any time."

Arthur had taken off his shoes and rolled up his sleeves. Dom stepped inside and set down the small duffle bag he'd brought. He crouched down and unzipped it, pulling out the small, lacquered wooden paddle.

Arthur eyed it and took a deep breath. Then he shook his head with a smile.

"Hate that thing."

Dom shrugged and innocently raised an eyebrow.

Arthur had turned the TV on, and a basketball game was playing. He always turned on the TV when he was due for a spanking, figuring it helped mask any noise.

Dom sat on the edge of the bed and rolled up his own sleeves.

"Should I take off my pants?" Arthur asked.

"Whenever you're ready, yes."

Arthur nodded and started to unbuckle his belt. Dom watched the game on TV for a minute. When he looked back at Arthur, he'd kicked his pants aside and was taking off his briefs. Arthur's dick peeked out from under the hem of his shirt, and Dom's eyes lingered on it for a moment before he glanced to the side, giving Arthur some slight modesty.

Arthur's hands twitched, like he was tempted to cover himself. But he didn't.

"I've been thinking," Dom said. "I'm going to give you half with my hand, and half with the paddle. That sound fair to you?"

Arthur met his eyes for a second before looking down and pushing his discarded pants aside with his foot. "Yeah, thanks."

It was more lenient than what Dom had promised, but Arthur's ass would still be sore when it was over.

Dom patted his knee. "All right, let's do this."

Arthur didn't hesitate. He draped himself over Dom's thighs. Dom angled himself so that Arthur could rest his upper body on the bed, while his legs curled against the floor. Dom pulled up the back of his shirt to expose his ass.

"I'm not mad at you," Dom said softly. "But you know what happens when you break the rules."

He wrapped his left arm around Arthur's waist, holding him firmly. There was no point in drawing it out, so he brought his right hand down on Arthur's ass.

The slap rang out in the room. Arthur jerked, but didn't make a sound.

There was, Dom had learned, a very delicate balance. It wasn't just about pain. Arthur needed to feel humbled more than anything. But he did have to feel it. He had to be able to look in the mirror afterward and see the results.

Most importantly, Dom took his time. It'd do no good to rush through this in a couple minutes and leave Arthur shell shocked by it. If the punishment was going to have a positive effect, Arthur needed time to process it.

He didn't tell Arthur how much he was going to get. He gave him fifteen hard slaps, and his hand burned and ached as he reached for the paddle. In the momentary stillness, he noticed that Arthur's back was heaving. He wasn't crying. Arthur rarely cried. But he was breathing deeply, and was on the verge of dry sobs.

"Half over," Dom said, rubbing his back. "You're taking it well."

The first strike of the paddle made Arthur grunt in surprise. The paddle wasn't big, but it packed a punch nonetheless. He tensed, but after a couple more he sank into Dom's lap and rode the punishment out. Something firm pressed against Dom's thigh, and he realized it must be Arthur's cock.

When Dom finished, Arthur's ass was bright pink with some hints of bruising. Dom set the paddle down and placed his hand against Arthur's cheeks, feeling the heat.

He gently rubbed Arthur's sore skin, and Arthur let him without complaint.

"Did you learn your lesson?"

"Yeah," Arthur murmured. His voice was muffled against the duvet.

"I hope so. Because if I have to do this again, it'll have to be worse, and I'll stick you in the corner for a while."

Arthur raised his head off the bed. "Seriously?"

"Do I sound like I'm kidding?"

He kept Arthur over his knee for another minute, giving him some time to wind down from the punishment.

"What do you say?" Dom asked.

"Thanks for punishing me." He sounded calmer than when they'd started. There was a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

"Good. You can get up whenever you're ready."

Arthur pushed himself to his feet. Before his shirttails fell to cover it, Dom couldn't help but notice his half-hard cock.

Arthur saw where his gaze was directed. "Shit, I'm sorry...." He tugged at his shirt, trying to cover himself more.

"It's no big deal. It happens."

"I know. I just don't want you to think I'm getting off on this. I'm not."

"I believe you."

And he did. But Dom didn't think it'd bother him if Arthur _did_ get off on it. He wasn't supposed to, but that was Arthur's rule, not Dom's. If anything, the thought that Arthur found punishment arousing just made it easier for Dom to understand why he wanted it.

Arthur bent down to get his pants and underwear. While he dressed, Dom stood up and put the paddle back in the bag.

"You might have some bruising," Dom said. "Nothing major."

"That's fine." He zipped his fly and turned to face Dom. "Thanks. I needed that."

Dom nodded. "Of course. I hope it did the job."

Arthur gingerly lay down on the bed and looked at the TV without watching it. Dom sat down beside him. He stayed for another ten minutes before leaving Arthur to rest.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Arthur used to pay a woman for this. Arthur had told Dom he would visit her once a month before he started traveling too much to keep it up.

"You mean, like a dominatrix?" Dom had asked.

"Guess you could say that," he'd said with a shrug. "It wasn't sexual. She just spanked me."

Arthur was very insistent about it not being sexual. He'd made it clear he didn't want his cock touched, didn't want anything put inside him, and didn't want any sexual punishments.

Dom could argue that the spanking itself was a little sexual, but he got the point, and had learned the boundaries of what Arthur considered sexual.

He suspected Arthur stressed the point because he thought it'd make Dom more comfortable. Dom, after all, was just his friend. It was an unusual arrangement to begin with.

But then, what else about their lives was ordinary?

Truth was, Dom couldn't help but admire Arthur sometimes. He couldn't imagine putting himself in Arthur's position. Couldn't see making himself that vulnerable.

And the things Arthur did to earn punishment were inconsequential compared to the crimes that weighed on Dom's mind.

Really, he probably didn't have any business disciplining Arthur.

Why Arthur had seen fit to put him in charge, Dom didn't know. He was the only one Arthur had, maybe. The only one he spent enough time with.

He supposed that if Arthur got what he needed, it didn't really matter.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He'd be lying if he claimed he didn't like it sometimes.

He didn't want to punish Arthur (not _really_ ), but there were plenty of other opportunities to spank him. Arthur was good enough at following the rules that he could go ages without needing to be punished.

But that didn't mean Arthur didn't need some discipline. Arthur had said it himself -- if he didn't get spanked sometimes, he might be tempted to act up just so he could be.

So Dom made sure they scheduled it in when they got the chance.

He waited until a few weeks after the paddling. They were in a new city by then, in a new hotel. Arthur's room faced the Atlantic, and it was still light enough out to see the water from Dom's place on the bed. He was sitting against the headboard, and Arthur was stretched naked across his legs.

He'd grown to like the feel of his hand against Arthur's ass. He liked that Arthur trusted him enough to do it.

Because Arthur had been good, he was gentle, using the palm of his hand to give steady, soft slaps. There was something meditative about seeing Arthur's skin redden, and listening to the soft noises he made when Dom's hand connected with his ass.

When it was over, Arthur lay beside Dom on his stomach. Dom decided to ask him something.

"Do you enjoy being punished?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "I enjoy _this_. You know that."

"Not what I asked." He took a deep breath. "It's all right, you know. I know it makes you hard sometimes. I don't care. Doesn't matter to me what you do after I leave the room."

"I don't do anything about it. If I enjoyed it, it wouldn't much of a punishment." Arthur covered himself with sheet and sat up. "Look," he said plainly, "I like punishment, but I don't. There's no easy way to explain that. I'm happier when I have someone around to give me a firm hand."

"Hmm."

Arthur sighed. "I've done plenty of stuff I'm not proud of. I'm not even talking about the rules. I don't tell you the stuff that gets to me. You know how this business can be."

Dom nodded. He understood too well, and while he wondered what things weighed on Arthur's conscience that he couldn't admit to, he also knew he'd never ask. Just like Arthur didn't ask him about what happened with Mal.

"It's nice to have a little accountability," Arthur said.

Dom touched his shoulder where the sheet met his bare skin. He rubbed his thumb across Arthur's collarbone. "Well, as long as you need a...firm hand, as you say, I'll keep you in line. You can count on that."

"I know."

Dom would always give him what he needed.


End file.
